A healthy diet, maintaining balanced BMI and quitting our bad smoking habit can all lead to healthy living. However, there is one other secret weapon to healthy and happy living. It's sports.

According to a research published in the British Journal of sports medicine, men who play sports involving endurance tend to live longer and happier compared to their brothers in the same demographic. 

It was concluded that “Former elite athletes are more physically active, smoke less, have better self-rated health and live longer than their brothers. Genetic differences between athletes and brothers, aerobic training for endurance elite sports and a healthier lifestyle may all contribute to reduced mortality.” 

This research examined the health-related habits of 900 Finnish former athletes and concluded that athletes lived 2-3 years longer than their non-athlete brothers. In another article “Do Elite Athletes Live Longer? A Systematic Review of Mortality and Longevity in Elite Athletes.”, by Lemez.S and Baker.J concluded that “Baseball, football, soccer, basketball, and cycling had the most reported data on elite athletes' lifespan longevities. A variety of mechanisms have attempted to explain mortality risk (e.g., handedness, playing position, achievement, etc.). Considerable support was found for superior longevity outcomes for elite athletes, particularly those in endurance and mixed sports. “

Research such as these only strengthens our belief that playing sports helps us live longer, healthier and happier. Aren’t these the basic expectations we all have? I am sure we do. Even if you haven’t given it a thought yet, it shouldn’t stop you from tying up your sports shoes, getting to the field in your jersey, playing hard and having fun. Nevertheless, playing sports with just an intent of having fun will only cause health benefits, reduce stress, live longer, healthier and most important of all - happier.

Journal reference: British Journal of Sports Medicine

As parents and coaches, we always tend to tell our kids - this is how you bat, this is how you run, be a top performer and so on. But, over a period of time what I realized was that there are much more to tell our kids what is really important for them to succeed in the sport they play. Here is our take on the 5 values that sports help your kids to be a better sportsperson.

Sports involve hard work. Playing under the scorching sun on a dusty ground is no easy job. But, kids must enjoy playing and realize that at the end of the day, it was all fun. Find out a suitable time and space for your kids to have fun and not burn out much. You could also book a venue so that schedules can be managed better.

Sports teach your kids to work together as a team, making them better as an individual player. Playing in a team teaches our kids interpersonal skills or as we call it as “soft skills”. Looking into the future, machines are going to do most of the work we are doing today and the one skills that will differentiate humans from the rest are these soft skills. 

Playing as a team, helps kids to interact with other kids from varied background. They will work together, identify the core team strengths and manage their team better in achieving the team’s goals.

As parents and coaches, we need to ensure that kids get to play together irrespective of their social, economic or racial background. We need to make that happen. Sports brings fun and imbibes a sense of togetherness. 

Sports teaches our kids to lead and support everyone in the team. An effective leader is one who moves forward as a team and stays humble. Playing with a team teaches our kids to interact with other kids with varying personalities. This helps our kids to be more patient and humble to bring the best out of each individual in a team. At the end of the day, it’s all about achieving the team goals collectively.

This is a value which should be practised by parents. Keep your personal ambitions, ego at bay and let your kids play and have fun. Winning a game or losing one is never permanent, it’s just rented for some time.